The Penguins captain somehow saw space between Ryan Miller's pads as he shifted through driving snow and gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres at the outdoor Winter Classic in front of an NHL-record 71,217 fans on Tuesday.

In elements way more suited for football than hockey, Crosby won the NHL's second outdoor game -- and first in the United States -- in the most dramatic of fashion at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home to the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Crosby skated down the middle, eluded a pokecheck by Miller and put a shot between the goalie's pads on the final round of the shootout.

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Kris Letang also scored for the Penguins, pushing his shootout record to 4-for-4.

• PRO FOOTBALL -- After building the San Diego Chargers into a consistent playoff contender -- if not yet a postseason success -- general manager A.J. Smith received a five-year contract extension Tuesday that will keep him with the team through 2014.

Details weren't announced, but various reports said the extension was worth $11 million.

Smith didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

Team president Dean Spanos was traveling and unavailable for comment, his secretary said.

• OLYMPICS -- Sprinter Justin Gatlin got his doping ban reduced, but not by enough to make him eligible to defend his Olympic 100-meter title this year.

The 25-year-old sprinter had a potential eight-year ban reduced to four years, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. With the ban set to expire May 24, 2010, it means Gatlin will be on the sidelines for the Beijing Olympics in August. He needed the ban reduced to two years to be eligible for the Olympic trials in June.

"We have no higher priority than the commitment we have made to clean competition," U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Darryl Seibel said. "If that means leaving behind when we go to the Games an athlete who has the talent and ability to break world records, but has also cheated, so be it. That's an easy choice to make. It's what the American public expects, and it's what the overwhelming majority of our athletes who choose to compete clean deserve."

Details of the ban first were reported by The Washington Post.

• COLLEGE FOOTBALL -- Ron English accepted Louisville's offer to be its defensive coordinator, the same job he had at Michigan, where incoming coach Rich Rodriguez fired all of Lloyd Carr's assistants.

"I called them last night and said I'd take the job," English told The Associated Press, the day the Wolverines beat Florida 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl. "I've appreciated my time at the University of Michigan, particularly the opportunity to work with coach Lloyd Carr, a man I love."

English agreed to a two-year contract with the Cardinals, who finished the season at 6-6.

On Nov. 19, Carr said he was retiring after the season, ending his 13-year stint as head coach and 28-year stay on the staff.

Rodriguez, who left West Virginia to succeed Carr, fired all of Michigan's assistants shortly after he was hired last month and has rehired only one coach: Fred Jackson, who will have a role on the offensive staff.

• PRO BASKETBALL -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom was suspended for one game without pay for committing a flagrant foul in the fourth quarter of his team's 110-91 loss to the Boston Celtics.

Odom threw himself into Ray Allen and knocked the Boston guard to the floor with 2:56 remaining Sunday night and the outcome already decided. Besides the suspension, Odom was assessed a flagrant foul, penalty two, NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson said in a press release.

Odom, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the one-sided loss to Boston, will serve his suspension Friday night when the Lakers (19-11) play the Philadelphia 76ers (14-17).

• TENNIS -- Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko advanced to the second round of the Qatar Open while No. 2 Tommy Robredo and No. 5 Ivo Karlovic were eliminated in straight sets.